Books

Here are a list of books on some of my favorite subjects: Delphi, DCOM, and Software Development. I've set up an arrangement with Amazon.com to allow one-click ordering if you click on the following links.

Book	Author	Description
COM
Inside COM	Dale Rogerson	A good introduction to COM. All in C++, but the concepts are well-presented to the COM first-timer.
Inside Distributed COM	Guy and Henry Eddon	Covers a little more of the COM goodies with good explanations: Threading, Connection Points, Marshaling and Security.
Effective COM	Don Box, et al.	This book shows some of the "rules" and best practices of a well-written COM program.
Essential COM	Don Box	Written by the COM guru. Plenty of information to soak up as you read it over and over.
Professional DCOM	Dr. Richard Grimes	Hardcore DCOM info. Covers DCOM in an NT service; in-depth Windows NT security issues; and threading.
COM+
Understanging COM+	David Platt	Excellent introduction to the new features of COM+. Includes an executive summary in the gutter, so this book can be used by you and your manager to see what COM+ can do for your corporation.
Inside COM+ Base Services	Guy and Henry Eddon	The updated version of the Eddon's first book. While it contains some of the same material, the COM+ coverage is quite good. A must-have if you don't have their first book, and still a good value even if you do own it.
DELPHI
Delphi 6 Developer's Guide	Pacheco & Teixeira	DDG6 continues to provide solid, technical information and code for Delphi developers. However, be warned: I am a biased reviewer of this book as I am the contributing author for the MIDAS chapter. This chapter has the most extensive coverage of MIDAS found anywhere in print. Several hundred pages more would be needed to fully cover this topic, but the material provided here should help get you up to speed, and warn you of common mistakes and pitfalls.
Delphi COM Programming	Eric Harmon	The first book of it's kind. Dedicated to COM programming from a Delphi programmer's perspective. Covers the basics of COM well, and shows how to do it with Delphi code. No more converting everything you read from C++.
Delphi 4 Unleashed	Charlie Calvert	Excellent book, with not much duplication found in other books. Especially if you want to learn about COM and CORBA with Delphi.
Delphi Developer's Handbook	Cantu, Gooch & Lam	Advanced level Delphi book. Covers many topics that are just not covered anywhere else. Also has 2 good chapters on using COM with Delphi.
Developer's Guide to Delphi Troubleshooting	Clay Shannon	Detailed error decsriptions you may encounter in Delphi, along with possible causes and solutions. Quite complete.
C++ BUILDER
C++ Builder 3 Unleashed	Charlie Calvert	Best book I've found to help get you up to speed in the BCB world.
GENERAL
Code Complete	Steve McConnell	What more can I possibly say about these books? They're a must-read for every professional developer.
Rapid Devlopment	Steve McConnell
Software Project Survival Guide	Steve McConnell